On the St. Louis Rams’ final offensive play Sunday, three Pittsburgh Steeler cornerbacks were on the field.
Brandon Boykin was not one of them.
Up by six with less than two minutes left in the game, the Steelers needed to stop the Rams’ passing game. But Boykin, whom the Steelers gave up a fifth round draft pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for in training camp, was standing on sideline next to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Helmet in hand with his arms crossed, all Boykin could do was watch.
Over the course of Sunday’s game, Boykin played two snaps – the least amount out of any player that saw at least one defensive snap for the Steelers that day. Fellow cornerback Ross Cockrell, who was picked up at the end of the pre-season, saw 24 snaps, and was out there during the Rams’ last offensive drive.
Not playing much on defense is becoming a recurring theme for Boykin. In the Steelers’ opening season loss at New England he did not play a down on defense, and played 11 the following week against San Francisco.
He said to reporters after the loss to the Patriots that he was not sure why he did not play, and insisted he knew the defense well enough to be on the field. He followed that up saying he would have to talk to the coaches if it persists.
It appears to be persisting.
Boykin did not have a stellar showing against the 49ers, but it wasn’t a terrible one either. He drew two flags, gave up an 18- and 14-yard pass, the latter scoring a touchdown. He did recover to make a nice tackle on the 18-yard reception given up, and also stayed with Torrey Smith stride-for-stride in the back of the end zone to break up a potential touchdown. Everyone is entitled to at least one off game not long after joining a new team, right?
Especially considering the Steelers’ secondary doesn’t appear to be the second coming of the Seattle Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” group. William Gay is better than many give him credit for, but he’s better as a slot corner. Antwon Blake is high-effort guy that teams love to have, but hate to start because he is just not good enough at this point to be used in that role. Cockrell is still a relative unknown that was cut by the Buffalo Bills after the pre-season ended, and Cortez Allen’s face may as well be on a milk carton because he disappeared after signing his 5-year, $26 million extension last September. Second-round pick Senquez Golson may not play this year, and fourth-round pick Doran Grant is on the practice squad.
Boykin, meanwhile, may not be confused with Rod Woodson any time soon, but there is still a reason he was traded for. He has seven career interceptions – six of them came in 2013 while he only saw about half the team’s defensive plays – with 33 batted passes and 122 tackles. In 2014, opposing quarterbacks had only a 78.2 rating against him, and he appeared at least be a quality slot corner, if not starter.
But that has not been the case, and the Steelers’ pass defense has been struggling.
The Steelers are giving up 255.3 passing yards on average a game, the 19th best in the NFL. They have the third worst completion percentage against with opposing passers completing 72 percent of passes against them, and give up a first down on 43 percent of pass plays, also third worst in football. They have also snagged only one interception, which came by way of Rams’ quarterback Nick Foles giftwrapping a lob pass that Will Allen fielded like he was a punt returner.
So where is Boykin? Will he help answer the team’s woes defending the pass?
It is tough to say how much of an impact Boykin would have on the field for the team, but, unless he has struggled in practice or to learn the defense, it is hard to see them doing any worse with him in there, if not better.
Is the real reason he is not playing hiding in the details of the trade to acquire him?
The Steelers agreed to give up a fourth round pick instead of fifth if Boykin plays at least 60 percent of their defensive snaps this season, and right now he is nowhere near that total. Was the plan all along to limit his snaps, or are they having a bit of buyer’s remorse and are now not confident enough in him to where they would be willing to give up a fourth round pick?
Whatever the reason, it will be interesting to see how the Brandon Boykin-mystery continues to unfold Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens.
Photo credit: Sporting News
